jovial
Americanadjective
Related Words
Jovial, jocose, jocular, jocund agree in referring to someone who is in a good humor. Jovial suggests a hearty, joyous humor: a jovial person. Jocose refers to that which causes laughter; it suggests someone who is playful and given to jesting: with jocose and comical airs. Jocular means humorous, facetious, mirthful, and waggish: jocular enough to keep up the spirits of all around him. Jocund, now a literary word, suggests a cheerful, light-hearted, and sprightly gaiety: glad and jocund company.
Other Word Forms
- joviality noun
- jovially adverb
- jovialness noun
- unjovial adjective
- unjovially adverb
Etymology
Origin of jovial
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin joviālis “of Jupiter” (the planet, supposed to exert a happy influence), equivalent to Latin jovi- ( Jovian ) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But for now he is a jovial Irish scamp, with the merest hint of a dark streak; where Sherlock comes from money, James, as he’s called here, is at school on a scholarship.
From Los Angeles Times
He was in a jovial mood throughout the event, which was set up in a space overlooking an expansive lawn at his club, according to the person familiar with the matter.
The mood at Olive Garden last night was so jovial, so exciting, and so totally different from the thick silence occupying the car today.
From Literature
"He was upbeat, and he had quite a jovial way about him."
From BBC
The dictator was in a jovial mood and the two spoke for four hours, dining on black bread, potato pancakes and an array of meats.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
